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Tripod kitty is doing great, only problem, he is peeing on the dog's bed occasionally. At first I chalked it up to him not being able to use the litterbox down in the basement, but that is not the case. He is peeing and pooping in the litterbox. I have been cleaning it daily. I have NO option to move it up on the ground floor. There are only 2 rooms on the ground floor, the kitchen, and the living room. There is absolutely NO spot for it that isn't in a main area.

i just don't know how to get him to stop. The dog needs her bed, but I can't keep washing her bedding.

I would line the bed underneath with plastic, but the dog likes to "fluff" her bedding, so she would inevitably rip up the plastic.

ETA: He also peed on my slippers, and a pair of my underwear. So this is deliberate. Not "oops, can't make it". This is cat-I'm-gonna-show-you thing. What he's trying to show me, I cant figure out.
Thoughts?

Vet visit is in order. UTI is actually highly unlikely as most cats under 10 have urine which is far too concentrated for bacteria to grow in. Cystitis or bladder pain and inflammation are common. Wet food can help as can a course of pain medications. If truly behavioral, then feliway and prozac can help.

I third the vet visit is needed. Almost aways is either a uti (females mostly) or crystals in the urine (males mostly). Most cats don't drink enough, and many cheap cat foods have much too much magnesium etc. Feed high quality foods- ideally grain free. Get a kitty fountain to encourage drinking, and feed canned foods when possible. Give tuna juice water as a treat. All AFTER the vet visit. Bring a urine sample if you can. Give kitty a litter box with clean aquarium gravel as littler- makes it easy to pour the sample into a jar or baggie.

I also agree with the probability of urine crystals or inflamed bladder, but I do have a cautionary tale:

I had a very similar problem with my male cat, brought him in, and the urinalysis showed...nothing. I was given some prazosin (helps soothe the bladder) and he seemed to be ok, but not long after - perhaps a month or two - he completely blocked and became a Very Expensive Kitty. The vet who cared for him (same clinic, different vet - guess ho's my favorite vet now?) explained that sometimes the urinalysis will come out clean, but the cat still has a problem. She gave me a standing prescription for prazosin (which he did accept in his food) and told me to keep him on a canned diet.

So, what I would do is go to the vet, ask about prazosin, and give your kitty wet food and water it down as much as he'll accept. No dry food. My cat only gets a little bit of dry food as a calorie supplement in the evening - the 6oz can per day is not quite enough. I have had absolutely no issues with inappropriate urination ever since he's been on the canned diet, neither have I needed to use the prazosin.

Don't tell me about what you can't do. That's boring. Show me what you can do. - Mom

Okay now what I'm going to say might not apply to everyone, as sometimes cats do punish us by whizzing on things, but.......as a person who has owned a lot of cats over the decades, my first question to everyone is "do you change your cat pan(s) daily?" I have always changed mine every day. Just as you don't want to use an unflushed toilet, cats want clean pans. I still use litter, not the scoopable stuff, and change my pans every day.

The other thing is cystitis. I've had cats who had "the operation" for cystitis. And I've had cats who took prescription drugs for it. When 2 of my cats, a 17 yoa and a 9 yoa got cystitis last year, the prescription drugs cleared up the 17 yr old female's cystitis, but the male's cystitis continued. Then I read on coth where someone recommended cosequin for cats with cystitis. It worked for my male cat. He takes it daily, and has not had cystitis since he went on cosequin. And he can still eat a lot of crabs and shrimp without getting sand or kidney stone sticking in his bladder or urinary tract.

For people who have cats with no medical problems and with clean daily cat pans, I have no advice on discipline. I know some people do recommend sitting around with a water pistol to correct their habits, but I don't know if that works.

I do know that the powders and sprays to keep cats off of items do work, as I bought some once for friends who wanted to keep cats off of their cars.

Thanks all, I was wondering if this was the case. When he broke his leg, he was fed junky food, because that was the week we had no power (hurricane sandy) and it was all I could get. Then, after the surgery, he couldn't poop, so I kept him on whatever wet food would get him to eat.

He is back on a Urinary Tract formula for his bladder. Many YEARS ago, he had this habit and the vet attributed it to UTI's but it has not happened in about 10 years.

I like to recommend learning to judge foods your self, rather than me just saying a food. Look at your ingredients list-For a cat you want no grains at all, and at least the first 4 ingredients to be named meats (like chicken meal, not poultry meal)

I love this website to learn foods- it is dog food, but most of these brands make cat food too. They are not affiliated with any food maker, and they are really good at explaining their reasons for the ratings. www.dogfoodanalysis.com .

Offhand, you want to look at the following:
Wellness core
Blue wilderness
Evo
Origen
Taste of the Wild

Cats have a propensity for not drinking enough water and getting dehydrated. However, if your cat normally drinks just fine and hasn't had issues, I personally would stick with dry if you can. You're just paying extra for water when you feed canned.

A good horseman doesn't have to tell anyone...the horse already knows.

May I ask, what is the reasoning behind not giving dry food? Is there just too much of a certain trigger in dry that wet does not have? Forgive my ignorance!

According to my vet, cats don't have a well developed thirst trigger and do not drink enough on their own when fed a dry food exclusively. It leads to kidney failure later in life as well as causing urination issues.

So yes, I am paying good money for water - but it's far cheaper than the vet bill for me to do so. I suppose I could soak my cat's dry food to cause him to take in more water, but it's far easier for me to open a can.

Don't tell me about what you can't do. That's boring. Show me what you can do. - Mom

We have a fountain, and he drinks a TON, he likes the fresh water. So he'll drink whats in the reservoir to get it to glug-glug more water into the bowl. Every time he eats, he drinks. For a long while. But maybe I'll do half and half. And he does love dry food mixed with water, so I can do that, too.

Been online and wondering if anyone gives a urinary support supplement?

So, vet visit went well. I prefaced the visit saying that I was still recovering from the LAST bill (the cast and later, the amputation) and that if the diagnostics would still render the same end result (antibiotics) that I'd like to skip to the end and try that first. My vet is awesome, she said thanks for letting me know, and yes, lets do that. So he got a shot of Convenia, told me that she would expect a change within a week, and if not, to come back.

She also confirmed the same sentiment re: the wet food, so instead of buying wet I'm just going to add water to his dry food. He eats it just fine that way, and saves me $$.

She suggested a product called Cat Attract for the litter box? Anyone heard of this? She said many of her clients really were impressed by it.

Found a puddle of urine this morning, on the floor. My guess is because I have removed ANYTHING he can pee on, that he had no choice. However, I also saw a fresh pee in the box, so I know he IS going in the box too.

Well, just wanted to update that it has NO stopped. I'm honing in on a week, so I think Monday morning I'm going to try to get him in and do all the tests. Sigh.

I've pretty much removed all fabric from the ground. So he can't pee on the dog's bed (its gone) or anything else. Well, he started just peeing right on the kitchen floor! That was lovely walking through in the groggy morning.

He's done that pretty much every day. Gotten a few pairs of shoes along the way. FYI - Fake uggs (FUGS, as I like to call them) survive the washing machine just fine. So do suede boots.

I bought the Cat Attract for the box, as I noticed today he didn't use it once. Normally, he is still using the box, just going other places too. Today, no box.

Although you have received great advice so far, I hate to be the bearer of unwanted news....but I need to mention phycogenic peeing. His mentality isn't "FU", its "damn...this looks like a fine spot to pee!".

Im not saying not to work your cat up - certainly there could be something going on, but I know cats who have been through the ringer of diagnostics and well, they just pee where they want because they can.

Cat Attract, Feliway, and litter boxes in every room (wherever he has previously gone). They dont need to be big boxes, and you can even use an old cardboard box - but basically you need to give him reminders in every room that cats pee in boxes.

Tripod kitty has been through a lot...sometimes these behavioral issues pop up after periods of stress.

Did the urinalysis show a UTI? Can your vet put an ultrasound probe on and take a look at his bladder? He could have cystitis. I went through this recently (can't was stressed from me dog sitting). He was peeing everywhere as well as the litter box. Within 24 hours of starting treatment he improved. I also got some feliway to help him "destress" while we got through this. He is a much improved cat now. He must have been in a lot of pain. I think going back to the vet tomorrow is a good idea.

His mentality isn't "FU", its "damn...this looks like a fine spot to pee!". ...
Tripod kitty has been through a lot...sometimes these behavioral issues pop up after periods of stress.

This appears to be the case with our Maggie. When stressed in any way she'll pee on the dog bed. We've had her vetted thoroughly. We clean the litter boxes at least daily. I've gotten used to washing the dog bed a lot Just glad she's not peeing on our bed!

Beckham, we did no diagnostics, per my request. I'm still in a bit of a debt from his initial casting, then amputation, so I asked that we skip the diagnostics and try antibiotics first, to attempt to help the problem without spending a fortune. She felt that was ok, but now we might need to move forward.

Now, today has been 24 hrs pee-free. However, his box is upstairs, on the ground floor, and I used the Cat Attract. Maybe he truly is having trouble getting down stairs??